Forerunning ZeroHedge on Spain's latest theft: Ann Barnhardt put these thoughts on her blog. Worth the full read: so to the point of the post:
Like a budget repair levy = Tax or 2% Medicare Levy = Tax Call them what they like, we are the ones that pay
Going completely off topic for a bit, is it just me or does anyone else think the Spanish President is totally Gareth Evans' long lost twin brother?
You have to remember losts of EU memebers still have their own currency. In some small towns it's near impossible to pay with a card and even in big cities, some major supermarket chains and fast food outlets don't take credit cards. I don't think it will be happening anytime soon.
More propaganda to support the elimination of cash. Look at how it is being demonized: * "Cash is an untraceable means of exchange that enables (and encourages) a vast criminal economy." * "It's also about limiting day-to-day street violence" And maybe the real reason it is being pushed: * ...if interest rates dip below zero, meaning banks effectively charge savers, customers can simply withdraw their cash and sidestep the policy entirely. This effect is known as the "zero lower bound," and is considered a serious limit to the effectiveness of monetary policy. "There are certainly many ways to skirt the zero lower bound, but the most elegant would be getting rid of most cash," Rogoff says.
The paper boy has been replaced by a vending machine with PayWave for those old codgers who don't read the news on their smart phone
A device that sucks intelligence from users causing them to walk the streets like zombies, totally oblivious to everything around them.